2003 GL1800 bad gas?

[Cufferone1970]

I ran the fuel level down to the lowest I have ever the other day. I stopped and filled my bike up and rode about another 5 miles to my house and parked the bike. The next morning I went to start the bike and all it would do was turn over. I ride my bike daily about 30 miles one way to work. Never had any mechanical issues. I started trouble shooting some issues and found that the fuel pump is kicking on when you turn the key on like it is supposed to. I also checked both starter solenoids and they are both working. I can smell gas after I have turned it over a few times so it should be getting fuel. I also drained all the gas out of the bike and replaced it with no ethanol fuel purchased from another gas station. I added some fuel treatment as well. I tried to start it again and after several attempts the bike just turns over but doesn't not attempt to start. I would like to reslove this issue myself instead of taking it to a local shop because they are behind on work and it would be weeks before I get it back. Any other ideas I may look at?

[Ob1quixote]

Could it be the kill switch?

[Cufferone1970]

I don't think so. It turns over as long as you hold the start button down but just won't start.

[Ob1quixote]

Well, that would be the first thing I would check. Did it myself the other day. While pulling my bike onto a lift, I used the kill switch to stop the bike while in gear. When it was tied down, I turned off the key switch.

Later after performing some service on the bike, I put it in neutral, turned on the key switch, and it would do nothing but spin over; no fire.

When I figured out that the kill switch was off, I was rewarded with a big backfire!

[Cufferone1970]

On my bike when you turn the kill switch off the bike does nothing. It won't even turn over. When the kill switch is on the motor will turn over but not start or even sound like it wants to start. I am going to pull a spark plug and see if it is getting fire. Something had to have gone out to cause it to not start at all. To me if it was bad gas it would maybe start but run bad.

[DaveO430]

An 1800, & later 1500s will not crank with the kill switch off. Something I'm glad they did. If it was bad gas it wouldn't have ran that 5 miles home.
A no start can be hard to diagnose from a distance. Check for spark first.

[patbrandon1]

An 1800, & later 1500s will not crank with the kill switch off. Something I'm glad they did. If it was bad gas it wouldn't have ran that 5 miles home.
A no start can be hard to diagnose from a distance. Check for spark first.

Yep, check for spark first, that's the easiest to check.
An engine needs 3 things to run. Gas, air, and fire. Of course for a bike to run it needs some other stuff, but without those 3, it will not run.

So I always try to check the easiest to troubleshoot first. I guess air might be easy too, but I would pull a plug and see if there is fire. If so, make sure a badger didn't climb into your air intake and plug it up. Then I'd pull a hose and see if the fuel pump is moving fuel. Just because you hear it doesn't mean it is working properly.

If you ran the fuel level very low, it is possible that some sediment at the bottom of the tank plugged the filter screen in the tank and isn't allowing fuel through it, or the external filter. And if the gas you put in that night was contaminated, that could have clogged things up as well. In the 5 miles you drove, it perhaps would have allowed you to get home and then settled and solidified during the night.

And if all else fails, check the kill switch for proper function.

I wish I was there and could troubleshoot it for you, I love figuring stuff out. That's what I do for a living. One thing I was taught very young was not to let frustration take my power. When I do find myself a bit frustrated working on plastics production machines, I step back and relax with a water or coffee and clear my mind. I also have 5 other mechanics I can turn to and ask them to see if there is something simple I missed. That's always nice to have. In this case you'll not have that, but you'll at least have us.

Please keep us posted with your progress if you can. We'll all be rooting for you.

[bluthundr31]

Spark is the best place to start, , ,

[Cufferone1970]

Ok I haven't been able to do much lately due to work. I just pulled a plug and found out that I am not getting any fire to the plug. The motor cranks fine but will not start. I have checked fuses and relays but have not found a problem yet. It just quit all at one time.

[Techdude2000]

Ok I haven't been able to do much lately due to work. I just pulled a plug and found out that I am not getting any fire to the plug. The motor cranks fine but will not start. I have checked fuses and relays but have not found a problem yet. It just quit all at one time.

It’s definitely not the kill switch, the 1800 wing WILL NOT spin the engine if the switch is in the stop position. Leave it on the sidestand, in neutral, crank it for more than 10 seconds and the ECM should flash a code with the FI light for what it “thinks” is wrong. Count the long and short flashes. Long flash equals 10, short flash is worth 1. We can look up the code if you don’t have a service manual. I’m guessing it will be a 19 which is no signal from the CKP, crankshaft position sensor. If it is a 19, the ECM is keeping the engine from running because it has no timing signal coming from the CKP. Possible bad sensor or a bad connection on its harness connector, and yes, this sensor can die without warning.

[lgjhn]

I'm with TechDude2000 on this one. But if you can pull the code from the FI light in the manner he's described, it will confirm it.
IF it's a 19 code, that CKP is around $50 (part# 30300-MCA-003) located behind the lower front cover (you'll also need a new gasket for the cover; Part# 11524-MCA-000). That cable connector is up under the air filter housing too. I guess it's possible to have a bad connector up under there, but the 3 or 4 of these I've repaired so far have all been the CKP unit itself.
IF you can pull the flashing code, let us know.